Club History

It began in the Spring and Fall of 1950. Charles Crouch, a resident of Alpine and a San Diego attorney, began an effort to raise money for a building, which would support youth activities. Although records are not available, it appears that this enormous project generated interest in the town to form a service club.

The Alpine Kiwanis Club was chartered on January 1, 1951. Our sponsor club was the La Jolla Kiwanis Club and our charter members totaled 32. We became a part of the Division 11 family. The signing took place at Fuller Hall. The first meeting was held at the home of Hans Kern on Victoria Drive but, later, moved to Fuller Hall. We've been at our current meeting place, the auditorium at Alpine Elementary School, for over 25 years.

As Kiwanis grew in the San Diego area, the clubs in San Diego's East County were separated from Division 11 into their own Division 31. The Division now has 15 clubs stretching from La Mesa to Borrego Springs.

When chartered, Alpine was a small community of about 2,000. Interstate 8 was only on the "drawing boards" and the only way to travel East was on Highway 80, which passed through our main street, Alpine Boulevard. Since then, our population has grown to 15,000; from a small elementary school we have grown to have an Early Learning Center (kindergarten), three elementary schools and a middle school.

In 1976, the Kiwanis Club prepared a time capsule and buried it - to be opened in 2076. It's still where it was buried - at the Alpine Post Office on the walk to the left of the entrance.

The Club has provided five Lieutenant Governors for Division 31: Paul Clay in 1968, Curly Collier in 1976-77, Doug Birrell in 1988-89, Gene Smith in 1991-92 and Bob Jackson 2002-2003.

Our longest running event is the Easter Pancake Breakfast; it began in 1954. Our biggest money-maker is the "Miracle Mile of Quarters" Golf Tournament, a benefit for Rady Children's Hospital held every November. Every year, all of the proceeds of this golf tournament and part of the proceeds of our Alpine Challenge Bike Ride go to Rady Children's Hospital. Our Club has contributed $691,952 since 1986.

The Kiwanis Club of Alpine receives top honors from the CalNevHa District and Kiwanis International on a regular basis for the extraordinary involvement of club members in a wide variety of service projects.